Looking back at the 2021 Ohio State recruiting class: The departures

On February 3rd, 2021, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day summarized his thoughts on the 2021 recruiting class, tremendously impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The class that had 24 players, which included a transfer from PK Noah Ruggles from North Carolina, was ranked as the 2nd best recruiting class by 247sports.com, behind Alabama.

"It's a very strange year...I think the thing that's amazing is we actually got to know their families and they got to know each other even better because we were forced to go on Zoom meetings and over-communicate to try and make sure to build those relationships even stronger because we weren't able to see each other in person.".

My personal history when it comes to analyzing Ohio State recruiting classes goes back to 2005when the new Buckeyes included the likes of James Laurinaitis, Brian Hartline, and Malcolm Jenkins. That class was relatively small at just 18 players and was not highly regarded by recruiting analysts, but the coaching staff only lost three from that class due to transfer or academic issues, resulting in 15 who either started or contributed to Ohio State during their careers. This 83 percent success rate is an exceptional result in the unofficial "Rule of Thirds" concept that is applied to recruiting classes.

“The Rule of Thirds” is pretty simple — within any class, there will be approximately a third who will develop into starters as the coaching staff hoped and recruited, a third will be contributors in some fashion, and a third will not work out, leaving due to transfer, injuries or possibly disciplinary reasons.

As we will see over the next three articles, the 2021 recruiting class had its share of highs and lows, and we will begin by looking at those players who decided to leave Ohio State for other programs. The players will be listed in chronological order of when they gave their respective verbal commitments to Ohio State.

The Departures (11)

1. QB Kyle McCord - McCord gave his verbal commitment on 04/30/2019, and was a 5-star prospect out of Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep. McCord started the 2021 game versus Akron, and was the primary backup quarterback behind C.J. Stround in 2021 and 2022, before becoming the starting quarterback for the 2023 season. Upon the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, McCord announced his decision to enter the transfer portal and enrolled at Syracuse, where he is projected to start.

2. OL Ben Christman - An offensive lineman from Revere, Ohio, Christman verballed to Ohio State on 06/26/2019. Christman redshirted for the 2021 season, played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2022, and then entered the transfer portal for the 2023 season. Christman missed the 2023 season at Kentucky, due to a knee injury.

3. LB Reid Carrico - From Ironton, Ohio, Carrico verballed to Ohio State on 09/10/2019. Carrico redshirted his freshman season in 2021, then played primarily on special teams for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Carrico entered the transfer portal upon the conclusion of the 2023 season and enrolled at West Virginia.

4. TE Sam Hart - Ranked as a 3-star prospect out of Aurora, Colorado, Hart verballed to Ohio State on 12/30/2019. Hart redshirted in 2021, then played sparingly in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Hart entered the transfer portal after the 2023 season and enrolled at Colorado.

5. S Jaylen Johnson - Ranked as a 3-star prospect out of Cincinnati LaSalle, Johnson gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State on 01/07/2020. Johnson actually missed the 2021 season due to injury, then decided to enter the transfer portal after the 2023 season. Johnson is coming off a 2023 season at Memphis, where he played in 5 games for the Tigers.

6. CB Jakailin Johnson - Ranked as a 4-star prospect out of St. Louis De Smet Jesuit, JK Johnson gave his verbal to Ohio State on 03/15/2020. JK Johnson appeared in 14 games with 5 starts in his 2 years at Ohio State and decided to enter the transfer portal, enrolling at LSU. JK Johnson missed the 2023 season due to injury.

7. RB Evan Pryor - Ranked as a 4-star prospect out of Cornelius William Amos Hough in North Carolina, Pryor gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State on 03/16/2020. Pryor rushed for 147 yards on 40 carries and scored one touchdown in his 3 years at Ohio State. Pryor suffered an injury that caused him to miss the entire 2022 season. Pryor entered the transfer portal after the 2023 season and enrolled at Cincinnati.

8. S Andre Turrentine - Ranked as a 4-star prospect out of Nashville Ensworth in Tennessee, Turrentine gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State on 03/17/2020. Turrentine appeared in four games, primarily on special teams, and redshirted in 2021.

After the 2021 season, Turrentine entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Tennessee. Turrentine appeared in in 11 games with three starts, totaling 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception, and two pass breakups for the Volunteers in 2023.

9. S Jantzen Dunn - Ranked as a 4-star prospect out of Bowling Green South Warren in Kentucky, Dunn gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State on 04/20/2020. Dunn redshirted for the 2021 season, then played primarily on special teams during the 2022 season.

After the 2022 season, Dunn entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Kentucky. Dunn is coming off a 2023 season with the Wildcats that saw him play in all 13 games, with 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.

10. P Jesse Mirco - Certainly one of the more surprising names from the 2021 recruiting class to enter the transfer portal, Mirco was a 3-year starter, after enrolling at Ohio State from Perth, Australia. Mirco gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State on 05/06/2020.

Mirco recorded 130 punts on an average of 43.9 yards per kick in his 3 seasons with the Buckeyes. When asked why he left Ohio State for Vanderbilt after the 2023 season, Mirco stated, "I was just looking for a new opportunity, somewhere I can kick some more spiral, traditional stuff, which at my old school, we were a lot of rollout...Which again going forward, I have goals to play in the NFL and see how that goes, give it a chance.".

11. QB Quinn Ewers - It would be easy to forget that Ewers was actually a member of the 2021 recruiting class, considering that he did not reclassify until right before the 2021 season, with a verbal commitment on 08/02/2021.

Ewers' claim to fame with the Buckeyes was when he had 3 snaps in the 2021 Michigan State game, handing the ball off for each play. Ewers entered the transfer portal immediately after the 2021 season and is the projected starter at quarterback for Texas in 2024.

With 11 players departing, it would be easy to look at this 2021 recruiting class of 24 players as having exceeded the "Rule Of Thirds" substantially, with 46%. I will simply ask you to wait until the second and third parts of the series are published, as some very recognizable names that will be on the 2024 Ohio State roster will be included in those articles.